Operation Holiday Cheer - A Spy School Story

Chapter 1: War

[Location redacted]

December 17th, 2015

1520 hours

Ben POV

The chips were down, and the stakes were high.

If we messed our mission up, our entire platoon was doomed.

"Come on, guys! We have to take that hill or our teams can't get through!" I ordered.

I was leading a fireteam of four. We made it to a group of trees and were currently hiding ourselves, looking at Observation Point Foxtrot, where the enemy had entrenched themselves with a mortar. We were further into enemy territory than almost everyone else, making everyone dub as one of the two "advance fireteams."

"OK guys, remember: Bill, you're on overwatch and cover fire. Up the tree, and engage from a distance. Thin 'em out as much as you can. Lillian, Joseph, you guys are going to be led by Mike. You're gonna rush 'em, but watch your fire. I'm gonna circle around, take them from behind. Are we clear?"

Everyone nodded. Bill began to climb up the tree, while my best friend, Mike, flashed me a grin, saying, "we'll handle it, Ben." He then directed Lillian and Joseph to be ready to rush.

At that moment, I decided to check in with the other advance fireteam's leader. "Red 1 Actual, this is Red 2 Actual. We are at OP Foxtrot, ready to engage. How copy?"

A female voice crackled over the radio. "Red 1 Actual copies. We have OP Golf in sight."

It was the voice of Erica Hale,  one of the best assets the Central Intelligence Agency had.  Her skill was likely on the same level of experienced CIA Paramilitary Operations Officers, and they were, like her, some of the best in the Agency.  She is also my longtime crush, and without a doubt the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, with her gorgeous ice-blue eyes and raven-black hair.  Plus, she's incredibly lethal and friendlier towards me than anyone else (except for her family), which makes me crush on her even harder.

I think it's safe to say that she is beauty, she is grace, and—if you cross her—she will punch you in the face.

I then made a call over the channel: "All stations, this is Red 2 Actual. Status update."

"This is Red 3 Actual, we're in position."

"This is Red 4 Actual, we're good."

"Red 5, standing by!"

"Luke Skywalker! A New Hope!" exclaimed Red 4 Actual.

"SHUT UP!" hissed several other people at once.

"Red 6 is ready."

"Red 7 is good."

"This is Red 8 Actual, we're ready to go."

"Red 9 is good to go."

"This is Red 10 Actual, we're locked and loaded!"

"Copy that. Red 2, paint your target!" ordered Erica.

"Roger that," I responded. "Red 10, Red 2 Actual. Call for fire. Stand by for target confirmation."

"Roger, Red 2 Actual. We're ready for tasking. Paint your target," he responded.

"Copy," I said. I then radioded Bill, who had an AN/PED-1 laser designator.

"Bill! Paint the target for artillery!" I ordered.

"Got it!" he said. He pulled a laser designator out of his pack, and aimed it until it was steady on the enemy mortar and sniper position.

"Red 10, Red 2 Actual. Target marked," I said.

"Copy that. Confirm, you are requesting danger close fire," he responded. We were relatively close to our target, around 25 meters away, so we weren't 100% safe from friendly fire.

"Affirmative. Red 2 Actual requests danger close fire," I confirmed.

"Roger that. Red 1 Actual, this is Red 10 Actual. OP Foxtrot locked. Standing by to engage!"

"Affirmative. OP Golf is targeted. Make the call," Erica responded.

"Copy your last. All stations, Red 2 Actual. Execute on my go. 3, 2, 1, go!" I ordered.

Everyone sprang into action. Our friendly mortar crews, Red 9 and Red 10, launching strikes at positions marked by mine and Erica's fireteams. I could hear the shells screaming down onto OP Foxtrot. Soon, the hill was covered, not in blood as you might expect, but...

... Red paint.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. This wasn't a real war. This was a simulation. Specifically, our Conducting Warfare 401 class midterm exam. We were joined by some younger students in the 101, 201, and 301 classes to test our leadership capabilities.

Let's back up for a second. My name's Ben Ripley. I'm a 4th year student at St. Smithen's Science Academy, AKA Spy School, where young CIA recruits are trained.

I was on the Red Team, which was led by Erica Hale and myself (she actually had a free period, but I got permission from the instructors to drag her in). We devised a plan: we split up into fireteams, each with a senior student as a leader of 3-4 other students. She and I took our teams to two different OPs to take down the Blue Team's mortar crews. Two other Red fireteams were mortar crews. The rest took up the mantle of basic infantry, attacking enemy Blues and supporting wherever Erica and I assigned them.

You're probably wondering: Erica, trusting people and not working alone? The sky is falling!

Two things: one, the sky is just fine.

Two, Erica still doesn't trust most people. She's still the Ice Queen. However, she has been opening up more, and I convinced her to try not using a lone-wolf approach for today's battle simulation. While she didn't show it, I'm fairly certain she was slightly nervous today. She wasn't worried about the battle, but how to handle other people. She had been taught throughout her life to avoid emotions and non-professional relationships, as they hindered an operative's ability to perform the mission. That statement isn't entirely wrong, but it doesn't seem right to me, as I believe that friendships are not only assets in missions, but they help keep you strong off-duty.

I was honestly a little surprised I had managed to convince her to take part of a larger group, and to say everyone else was shocked would be an understatement. She never took part in the large briefings in large team battle simulations. I remember Mike having the strangest reaction: surprise and none of it.

That's all for now.  Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll try to answer them ASAP.

Stay safe, everyone.

 - ADF-2